About this blog

My name is Bill Hirt and I'm a candidate to be a Representative from the 48th district in the Washington State legislature. My candidacy stems from concern the legislature is not properly overseeing the WSDOT and Sound Transit East Link light rail program. I believe East Link will be a disaster for the entire eastside. ST will spend 5-6 billion on a transportation project that will increase, not decrease cross-lake congestion, violates federal environmental laws, devastates a beautiful part of residential Bellevue, creates havoc in Bellevue's central business district, and does absolutely nothing to alleviate congestion on 1-90 and 405. The only winners with East Link are the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington and their labor unions.

This blog is an attempt to get more public awareness of these concerns. Many of the articles are from 3 years of failed efforts to persuade the Bellevue City Council, King County Council, east side legislators, media, and other organizations to stop this debacle. I have no illusions about being elected. My hope is voters from throughout the east side will read of my candidacy and visit this Web site. If they don't find them persuasive I know at least I tried.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

8/28 Presentation to 48th District Republicans

It’s
been an interesting 3 months since I introduced myself as the anti-East Link
candidate.I’ve added some 40
posts to my stop-east-link-now blog and had over 1700 views.Nearly all of the posts have been aimed
at exposing Sound Transit’s East Link light rail debacle.

Several
posts have detailed Sound Transit’s truly historic blunder; their decision to
select light rail as the transit choice for cross-lake commuters.Sound Transit knew, or should have
known, that a bus rapid transit system was far superior.BRT has 10 times light rail
capacity at 1/10th the cost and could be in service 10 years
sooner.Equally important, a
BRT system could provide access from every eastside P&R.East Link’s only access for most
cross-lake commuters would be the South Bellevue P&R.This lack of capacity and access will
force the vast majority of cross-lake commuters to use the outer roadway.

Those
forced on to outer roadway will fall victim to another Sound Transit fantasy;
their claim a 4th lane added to the outer roadways can accommodate all
the HOV and bus traffic.They used
that claim to convince a Kittitas judge the center roadway could be used for
light rail.Yet their own
2004 studies showed a single lane would not have the capacity needed for both
bus and HOV traffic. The lack of capacity
and accessibility on both the center and outer roadways will inevitably lead to
cross-lake gridlock.

Another
post refutes the idea that light rail is the way to enhance development of the
Bel-Red area.Sound Transit’s claim
light rail trains trundling through the area every 3 ½ to 5 minutes for up to 20
hours a day, will attract development is dubious at best.Bellevue residents fought
unsuccessfully for two years to keep light rail out of their neighborhood.The post explains how a South Lake
Unions streetcar system is a far better choice for the area.It would be less intrusive, far more
accessible and far less expensive.Its construction could also be timed to meet the area’s development
schedule not some 2023 light rail schedule.

Another
post questions the assumption East Link is needed to provide Seattleites access
to Overlake area and Microsoft.A
520 BRT system would be far faster for the majority of Microsoft employees who
live north of the city center.The
520 BRT service could also provide eastside residents with improved access to
UW and to the light rail station there for downtown connections.

The
bottom line is there is absolutely no justification for East Link.It will result in gridlock on 1-90, won’t
benefit Bel-Red development, and is a poor choice for Microsoft commuters.Fifteen years ago Sound Transit could
have added the 4th lane to the outer roadway and initiated BRT
service on the center roadway.Thousands of commuters from both sides of the lake would have benefitted.Instead they’ve refused to do either,
wasting hundreds of millions perpetrating a totally flawed light rail
system.They give a whole new
meaning to the word “incompetent”.

What’s
truly incredible is that, after another four more years of this debacle, it
gets worse. In 2016 Sound
Transit will close off the center roadway and force all cross-lake traffic onto
the outer roadways.Their own
studies predict a substantial increase in congestion.They’ll spend billions over the next 7 years devastating
Bellevue to construct East Link:A
light rail system that will have a truly miniscule effect on the gridlock that
will inevitably result on the outer roadway.

My
candidacy is the culmination of three years of failed efforts to convince the
Bellevue City Council, King County Council, the media and many others to stop
East Link. My opponents response
was “Get over it, Sound Transit is going to install light rail across Lake
Washington come hell or high water”.

My
goal is to prove him wrong.The
best way to do this is to tell not only 48th District voters, but
the entire eastside about East Link. I believe every eastside candidate could benefit by coming
out against this debacle.Candidates should promise to work towards requiring Sound Transit add
the 4th lane to the bridge next spring, not 2016, and initiate BRT
service soon after. Tell voters
BRT service is the only way to avoid gridlock on Lake Washington and alleviate
congestion throughout eastside. BRT will also end the devastation of parts of Bellevue and
put a stop to paying the additional 200 million Sound Transit is attempting to
extort for a tunnel.

Lastly
candidates should tell voters Sound Transit should be required to use eastside
taxes to end the 520 bridge tolls rather than fund East Link.Every eastside-precinct-chairperson should be urged to use
their facebook page to spread the word that East Link can and should be
stopped.Their candidate may
not win, but their efforts to end this debacle will be appreciated by all.

About Me

My last elective position was class president for 25 “class of ’57” seniors in Armstrong, Iowa. I received an MS in engineering at ISU, worked at Boeing for 36 years before retiring in 1998. My wife and I moved into our current home in Bellevue in 1967 where we raised two daughters. Three years of unsuccessful attempts to persuade BCC to block EL are available on “extended session” meeting minutes. Copies of many were sent to all the media outlets, legislators, and others to no avail. I’m hoping this Web site will convince east side residents to query their own legislators.